JOPHON NCPD (2023 Jul/Aug) -Health Literacy in Parents of Children Newly Diagnosed With Cancer and Comprehension of Key Concepts Related to Their Child’s Care-Health Literacy in Parents of Children Newly Diagnosed With Cancer and Comprehension of Key Concepts Related to Their Child’s Care

Health Literacy in Parents of Children Newly Diagnosed With Cancer and Comprehension of Key Concepts Related to Their Child’s Care

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This study examined whether parents’ health literacy affects their understanding of essential discharge education after a child is newly diagnosed with cancer. Using a secondary analysis of data from a structured discharge teaching intervention study, researchers evaluated 50 primary caregivers on a pediatric oncology inpatient unit. Parents completed the Brief Health Literacy Screener (BHLS) at enrollment, reported sociodemographic information and preferred learning style, and then answered a six-item “key concepts” questionnaire on the day of hospital discharge. Key concepts included the child’s diagnosis, primary oncologist, treatment plan, when to seek emergent care, fever definition, and when to re-dose medication.<br /><br />Most parents were female (86%), non-Hispanic White (60%), and English-speaking (92%); 24% had a high school education or less. Eighteen percent (9/50) screened in the low health literacy range on the BHLS. Despite this variability, 80% of parents answered all six key concept questions correctly, indicating high overall comprehension after the standardized teaching intervention.<br /><br />Health literacy level was not significantly associated with perfect overall comprehension or with most individual concept items. The one exception was understanding the child’s treatment plan: only 55.6% of low-literacy parents answered correctly compared with 100% of adequate-literacy parents (p ≤ .001). There was also a near-significant trend suggesting higher BHLS difficulty might relate to lower total concept scores (p ≈ .051). Preferred learning styles were most often kinesthetic and aural, but learning style and sociodemographic factors were not significantly associated with health literacy in this sample.<br /><br />The authors conclude that the standardized discharge education intervention appeared effective for most parents regardless of health literacy, though some parents—especially those with low literacy—may need additional support to understand complex treatment plans. Limitations include small, single-site sample size, nonrandomized design, and reliance on brief, subjective measures. Future larger, multi-site studies should test whether tailoring education to health literacy improves understanding of more complex topics.

Keywords

parental health literacy

pediatric oncology discharge education

childhood cancer diagnosis

Brief Health Literacy Screener (BHLS)

caregiver comprehension of discharge instructions

key concepts questionnaire

treatment plan understanding

standardized discharge teaching intervention

emergent care and fever guidelines

health literacy and patient education outcomes